NEWS TODAY 5.4.24

 

NEWS TODAY 04.04.2024

 

LG approves suspension of assistant professor in Delhi govt-run medical college

LG approves suspension of assistant professor in Delhi govt-run medical college

PTI

06 April, 2024 10:46 pm IST

New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has approved a proposal for the immediate suspension of an assistant professor in a Delhi government-run medical college over sexual harassment charges against him, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday.

In a statement, the Delhi government said it “is very disheartening” to see that even though it was considered to be a services matter falling in the LG’s domain, it took him more than two months to take the action.

“And, it was only when the matter was constantly raised by the Health Minister, the LG had to take this action,” it said.

A case was lodged against the assistant professor of the Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital and a chargesheet filed subsequently by police after a 22-year-old MBBS student submitted a complaint against him last month.

In a note, Saxena said he has considered the proposal to suspend the assistant professor and initiate major disciplinary proceedings against him.

He said the “shocking incident of sexual harassment” took place in a medical college, so a mere transfer of the accused, as recommended by the internal complaints committee of the college, will not mitigate the “intimidating atmosphere” for the students.

“I approve the proposal of placing the officer under suspension with immediate effect, under Rule 10 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965,” the LG said while stressing that the alleged act of the accused involved “moral turpitude”.

He also advised the department concerned to resubmit the proposal for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the accused, with due recommendations from the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the chairman of the panel, is currently in judicial custody.

The NCCSA deals with transfers and postings of officers. It is headed by the chief minister and comprises the chief secretary and a member secretary.

Kejriwal, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, is in judicial custody till April 15.

The Delhi government said “the unfortunate incident involving molestation of MBBS students happened on January 31 and it was immediately reported by the brave girls to the college authorities. However, the matter was intentionally put under the wraps and the complainants were being forced to take back their complaints”.

The matter came to the knowledge of Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj through social media after almost a month and a half, it said.

“That very day, the minister met the complainants along with their warden. After speaking to them, he had assured that strictest action will be ensured.

“When asked about this incident, the Health Secretary and the Chief Secretary maintained that this matter being a services comes directly under the domain of LG, therefore minister or elected government was not required to be informed,” the government’s statement said.

The matter was vigorously taken up by Bharadwaj, though initially, there was visible reluctance on the part of the chief secretary, it added. PTI VIT SLB RC

ICU sexual assault case: survivor joins protest staged by nursing officer

ICU sexual assault case: survivor joins protest staged by nursing officer

Nursing Officer P.B. Anitha, a key witness in the assault case, has been protesting in front of the administrative block of the Government Medical College, Kozhikode, since April 1, demanding her reinstatement there. She has procured an order from the High Court against her transfer to Idukki. The Kerala govt. will move a review petition in the HC

April 05, 2024 09:00 pm | Updated April 06, 2024 07:48 am IST - Kozhikode

AABHA RAVEENDRAN

The survivor in the ICU sexual assault case, on Friday, joined the cause of Senior Nursing Officer P.B. Anitha, who has been protesting in front of the administrative block of the Government Medical College, Kozhikode, since April 1, demanding her reinstatement there.

Ms. Anitha, a key witness in the ICU sexual assault case, had procured an order from the High Court against her transfer to Idukki, demanding that the Director of Medical Education give her back her former position. However, the Administrative Officer of the Medical College did not heed the order following which Ms. Anitha launched a protest, which has since then garnered support from various human rights and political organisations.

Three transferred

The incident occurred on March 18, 2023. A woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by an attender in the intensive care unit of the hospital while she was still under sedation following a thyroid surgery. Ms. Anitha, along with the Chief Nursing Officer and Nursing Superintendent, gave statements in her favour to the police as well as the investigation panel set up by the Directorate of Medical Education. The three nursing officers were transferred to Idukki on November 28 following which the trio appealed before the administrative tribunal. While the tribunal offered an injunction order on the transfer of two of them, it did not support Ms. Anitha. Hence she moved the High Court.

“The government is yet to cite a reason for punishing me. I was just doing my duty by offering my protection to the survivor. I would have done the same had it been anyone,” Ms. Anitha said.

Survivor’s stance

“Ms. Anitha only did what the Hospital Superintendent or the Head of the Department should have done. She is being punished for supporting me,” said the survivor, while questioning the ‘double standards’ of the administrative tribunal in granting injunction order on the transfer of two of the three nursing officers.

Meanwhile, the State government has decided to file a review petition at the Kerala High Court against the order in favour of Ms. Anitha. Health Minister Veena George has maintained that Ms. Anitha was punished for her supervisory lapse, as the untoward incident took place while under her watch. “We were only trying to ensure justice to the survivor and did not care who was on the other side,” she told reporters on Friday.

The District Congress Committee has offered support to Ms. Anitha and decided to take over the protest if it continues for long. “Five workers of the Mahila Congress will be part of the protest,” DCC president K. Praveen Kumar said.

Bringing the latest capabilities to Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers

Bringing the latest capabilities to Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers

By Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President, AI at Work

April 2, 2024

Edge

Microsoft 365

Microsoft Teams

With Microsoft Copilot, we are bringing the power of generative AI to everyone across work and life. And with Copilot for Microsoft 365, we are committed to making sure our commercial customers have access to the very best generative AI models and capabilities from Microsoft.

Today we are announcing two important updates for users of Copilot for Microsoft 365. First, we are bringing priority access to the GPT-4 Turbo model to work with both web and work data. We will also be removing limits on the number and length of conversations while increasing file uploads. Second, later this month we are bringing expanded image generation capabilities in Microsoft Designer to users of Copilot for Microsoft 365, including priority access during peak times.

Copilot for Microsoft 365

Discover Copilot features that work alongside you

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Priority access to GPT-4 Turbo and unlimited conversations

Starting today, all licensed commercial customers will have priority access to GPT-4 Turbo in Copilot for Microsoft 365. As part of this change, we are removing the limits on the total number of chats per day and the number of turns per conversation, along with additional updates.

Together, these changes mean that customers will receive faster, more comprehensive responses whether they are using Copilot in the web context or in the work context.

In the web context, Copilot users get the power of the latest foundation models grounded in the latest public information from the web. The web context includes commercial data protection, meaning Microsoft doesn’t retain your prompts or responses, doesn’t have eyes on your prompts or responses, and doesn’t use your chat data to train the underlying foundation models—ensuring a more secure alternative to using other 

public generative AI services.

The work context lets you go even further by grounding in your work data––that’s your calendar, emails, chats, documents, meetings, contacts, and more––so you get contextually accurate responses. Copilot can help you quickly scan your email for important messages to prioritize, help you get ready for key meetings by pulling information from across your work, and help you ideate on the best path forward. The work context also benefits from enterprise-grade data protection, going further to ensure that your data remains within the Microsoft 365 service boundary.

Expanded image generation capabilities in Microsoft Designer

Starting next month, we’ll increase the number of image generation boosts per day from 15 to 100. Powered by the DALL-E 3 model, Microsoft Designer image generation allows users to create custom images from text descriptions, transforming written ideas into visual art. Users will be able to initiate up to 100 rapid image generation requests daily, significantly reducing waiting times for image creation and unlocking new productivity.

Harnessing the full power of Copilot

We are learning alongside our customers that AI is so much more than a new technology. It is a new way of work that gives organizations the opportunity to completely reinvent their business—rewiring everything from core processes and workflows to hiring and training the workforce of the future.

These new capabilities will be initially available in copilot.microsoft.com, followed by the Copilot mobile app, in Windows, and in Edge, as well as the places where users can access the work context directly, like in Microsoft 365. Additional details about these changes are available on the Copilot for Microsoft 365 documentation page.

Next steps

Learn more about Microsoft Copilot and visit the Copilot for work site for actionable guidance on how you can start transforming work with Copilot today. For the latest research insights on the future of work and generative AI, visit WorkLab.